‘Silence of the Lambs’ Sequel Series ‘Clarice’ Picked Up By CBS

CBS announced today it had picked up three new series for the fall 2020 TV season. The first is a multicamera sitcom called B Positive starring Thomas Middleditch. The second is a reboot of The Equalizer starring Queen Latifah. The third is the most intriguing: Clarice, a sequel series to The Silence of the Lambs focusing on FBI Agent Clarice Starling after the events of that novel/film (where she was originally played by Jodie Foster).

Here is the show’s official description from CBS:

CLARICE, from acclaimed executive producers Alex Kurtzman and Jenny Lumet, and starring Rebecca Breeds (“Pretty Little Liars”) in the title role, is a deep dive into the untold personal story of brilliant and vulnerable FBI Agent Clarice Starling as she returns to the field in 1993, six months after the events of “The Silence of the Lambs.” Kal Penn, Nick Sandow, Michael Cudlitz, Lucca De Oliveira and Devyn A. Tyler also star. Alex Kurtzman, Jenny Lumet and Heather Kadin are executive producers for MGM Television and CBS Television Studios in association with Secret Hideout. Aaron Baiers is a co-executive producer.

Word of the sequel series first leaked out several months ago, before the coronavirus pandemic began wreaking havoc on TV production and pilot season. Clarice Starling was one of the more recognizable characters from the world of novelist Thomas Harris’ Hannibal Lecter novels who did not appear in their previous TV adaptation, Hannibal, starring Mads Mikkelsen. That show did not have the rights to adapt The Silence of the Lambs specifically, hence she never joined the cast (and double hence the show can now exist).

Look for Clarice to premiere in the fall ... assuming television production can resume some time before then.